NAND flash memory

NAND flash memory is a type of nonvolatile storage technology that does not require power to retain data.

An important goal of NAND flash development has been to reduce the cost per bit and to increase maximum chip capacity so that flash memory can compete with magnetic storage devices, such as hard disks. NAND flash has found a market in devices to which large files are frequently uploaded and replaced. MP3 players, digital cameras and USB flash drives use NAND technology.

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NAND has a finite number of write cycles. NAND failure is usually gradual, as individual cells fail and overall performance degrades, a concept known as wear-out. To help compensate, some vendors overprovision their systems by including more memory than is actually claimed.

When a NAND card wears out, the user simply buys a new one, and the device continues to function. By passing the expense of additional storage on to the consumer, manufacturers have been able to lower the price of consumer electronic devices significantly. New developments in NAND flash memory technology are making the chips smaller, increasing the maximum read-write cycles and lowering voltage demands.

NAND flash can only support a small number of write cycles per block. It delivers speedy read access, but it's not as fast as static read-only memory (ROM) or random access memory (RAM). The technology is shock resistant and can withstand high and low temperatures, as well as submersion in water, so it performs better than hard disks in mobile devices.

NAND flash vs. NOR flash

NAND flash memory is written and read in blocks that are smaller than the device, whereas NOR flash memory reads and writes bytes independently. Use cases for both NOR and NAND flash memory include laptop and desktop computers; digital cameras and audio players; smartphones; video games; and scientific, industrial and medical electronics.

NAND flash offers faster erase and write times than NOR flash, while NAND technology delivers better density at a lower cost per bit. NAND also offers up to ten times the endurance or NOR.

NAND isn't a suitable replacement for ROM because it doesn't deliver byte-level random access, which data stored on ROM usually requires. NOR memory makes a good replacement for RAM and ROM drives; NAND is more closely related to secondary storage devices, such as hard disks. This makes it good for mass storage use cases.

NAND flash shortage

A NAND flash shortage began in 2016. The shortage is partially the result of demand, but it is also because vendors are transitioning from manufacturing 2D or planar NAND to much denser 3D NAND technology. Planar NAND has only one layer of memory cells, whereas 3D NAND stacks cells on top of one another. Samsung refers to 3D NAND as Vertical NAND or V-NAND.

Making 3D NAND chips is a more complicated process, and vendors haven't nailed down a cost-effective way to produce enough supply to meet the rising demand as of this writing.

How has the NAND shortage affected your organization?

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